owens



(No Model.)

0. OWENS. IGNITER FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

Patnted June '7, 189

2 Sheets-Sheet 1..

(No Model.)"

. g I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. 0. OWENS. v 4 IGNITER FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES;

Patented June 7 UNrT n; STATES ATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR Owens, OF SAN FRANCISCO, csmronnm, Assicuon o run AMERICAN TYPE FOUNDERS COMPANY.

IGNITER F OR EXPLOSI'VE-ENGINES.

smemeamon forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,383, dated June 7,'1 ass.

mutant on November 37,1890. and at. 01am. (Ho model.) 7

.To (all whom it many concern):

Be it known that I, Oscan Ownns, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Franeisco,in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Igniters fou'Exploeessivo charges oicombustiblo gas or vapor.

One object of iny invention is to avoid the use of springs or of other frail parts in the combustion-chamhor where such sprin or other parts are commonly subjected to the excessive heat produced by the explosions and. to place all springs, pivots, bearings, and, parts exposed to weareutside of such chain-.-

her, where they can'always be examined, removed, and replaced without dillloulty and without removing cylinder-heads or valve. chest covers. l

Another object is to provide means for changing the' time of ignition without stopping the engine, so that it can be made two-take place at any time during the piston-stroke.

By soregulatin g the ignition I can accomplish the best results as to power and eflieiency with minimum charge of explosive mixture.

Another object of the invention is to start the engine quickly without'being required to pull the flywheel through several revolutions. I am enabled to accomplish this last object in a very simple way by means of the devices employed for regulating and changing the time of ignition, as referredte above.

My improvements, as I have herein described and shown them, are embodied iir a single-cylinder vertical gas-engine of a wellknown type. is here employed only for the purpose of illustration, since my igniter and the means for operating and regulating itcau be applied to all kinds of explosive-engines. This specification should be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- 1 i i Figured is a side elevation of as-engine with my improvements applied; I ig. 2 is at angles, Fig.6. I-may,lhewever, provide the This kind of engine, however, to-serve as the contact, and have illustrated front elevation oi t e same. hjig. 3 is an ele I vation of the valve-eh amber, partly broken away to show the interior-and aseet'lon of the covering late and also showing the eonnec 'tio'n by w ieh the igniter is operated; Fig. 4

is a plan view of the covering-plate. Fig.6 is adetail' view of the means for adjusting the connections which operate thei niterii Fig. 6 is a detail elevation of the gniting-eleetrodes. Fig. 7 shows ammdiileationin one of 6 the electrodes. y

In the drawings I have ill nstrated so'much of a. as-engine as will giveaclear idea of the relation of my invention to such an engine.

A represents the eylinc'lor, ll the crankshaft, .(3 the connecting-rod; and l the valvochambenopen in g into the eyliudeigsnd h'ence communicating with the combustion-space.

I preter'to attach my igniter to the. coverplate E of the valvekchamber and have so Y shown it; but it can be up liedinstead'to thecylinderdiead, although t \e former location is preferable. a The igniter proper consists of two pivoted non-elastic terminal electrodes F and G. The electrode "F is keyed upon a hardened-steel pin 1, journaled in the plate E, and isot an-- gular or curved shape and provided with a rounded end 2, as showuinFigt-(i. The electrode G is keyed upon asimilar pin 3, jour-'- nal'ed in a thimble 4,'the latter being insulated by a non-conducting bushing 5. A nut 6 on a threaded part of the thimble 4 draws the inner-flange of said bushing against the coverplate E and also holds in place, the angle plate 7, Fig. 3. The electrode G is a flat ta- .pered plate, with the edge of which the electrode F makes a direct contact about at right electrode G with-a rel or g at its extremity 9::

such a mediilcation'in Fig. 7. Secured upon the outer "end of the pin '3 is an arm or lever 8, the end of which has a'leos e hearing ripen a pin 9, secured in the angle-plate 7, Fig. 4. 9 A springlO is interposed between the plate 7 and arnr8,'\vhich therefore holds the electrode G in normal position for contact with electrode F, but. yields when the contact is made, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6. Theice the other ire being mounted at any suitable" pointonthe 'coverpla'te E, Fig; 2..

'[jponthe onter end er thefjonrnoltpin 1v is secured a lever 12, towhich is connected .1 epringld, which restores the electrode .F to

normal position after each contact, ihlever' shaft 0' botweenj ts gcar'end tho cngino-frnmc is a. cam P. The com is mounted loosely, so es to be adj ustablo. upon the shaft, but ishelil 12 being arrested by e stop pin 14, Fig.- 4h

The 'perle so for described comprise the ignite! proper, and itwillf be "observed that the only ports-exposed to heat within the on lesion-space are of solid inetnhwithoutelae city and withoutpivots or wearing p'erioofnny'kind; The operating connections on the outside, besides being in a comparatively low normal temperature, are further protectedby e water-space in the-coverplate.

increment; from the engine-shaft and in the other by the spring 13; before'referred to of the igni'teredmit of'n direct action olf'the rod K-npon the .igniter-lever, the )DSikbElZ mey be a continuation of such rod andthe bell-crank be dispensedwitb.

I shall hereinafter describe certain whether directly or indirectly,to the push-bar. Journeled in a etud.15 onthe'cover-plete is e spool-shaped roller 16, the flanges of which form guides for the push-bar, Figs; 3 end- 4. The push-bar has a reduced end 17; which bears against the ignite'r-lever, and th'elmain port of the bar mergesintc'the reduced-poo tionby a curve 18'. The bar strikes theigniand 13 to act'upon 'ihe-scpnrato iguiter-levers' 8 and 12. The levers is, hovvever, stopped by the bolt-head- 11 before the lever 12- is orrested by the stop 14, and hence the electrod es ore scpnrnted, prodncing the spark, and asenming the normal position of the full linesin Flg. 6. On the other edge of the push-bar do is another curve 18% placed behind the curve 18, which cnnblcs'me to change the time of ignition by reversing or turning the push-bar around so that the cam 18 is brought in line withtlie spool, since the curyc 18 boars upon the spool and releases the ignitcr-lcvcr a litile lotorthzin the curve 18 would have done.-

I now proceed to describe the connections The oscillating electrode I1; which is "the circuit maker. gind breakeni's opernteciinione' direction by connections which derive their 5 The contact movement is directly produced by :i push-bar" J, whiclrin-e vertioelrfenginelike that shown derives its motions fr-16m n. rod K through-an intermediate bell-'icrenkL. It the'constrnction of the-engine and location novel features in .the transmission of motion to the, rod K. It is sniiicient at present to assume thatit derivesnreciprocating motion from the engine and communicates the some motion,v

from the engine elicit for opcreting'tho ignijtcr and the adjustments and regula-timr of 'seid connections to accompl sh some of: the objects referred to above.

The engine-shaft carries a gear Ill,v which either directlvor through intermediate gear ing, such as N, cmnmunicnteemotion in the ratio of two to one to the gear 0. This gem is: mounted nponn shaft 0, 'iournal od in the engine-frame. Mounted loosely upon the in place at any point'of adj ustment by e bolt 538, which pnsses through the cam and through to slot 19 in e plate Q, the letter-dieing keyed to the'slmft 0', lower pertof 3.) A rocker R eerries are her 20, upon whiclii the cam henjre and is pivoted to'the lower-end of the rod K, whiciioporntes the ignite-r, as oelore described. An adjustable lever S is pivoted it '21 tothe engine and at 2zl' totho rocker R end et'its upper end carriesn;spring-latch 28, adopted to engage with e toothed sector '1, sefcnred upon the engine. The-latch thus locks the leverS but permits its adjustment when the latch is disengaged from the sector. lhe operetion'of these connections willlie readily frm'deintood- The cam is adjusted to proper I positio'non its shaft ondsecured to the slotted plate Qa vand then revolves regularly with the shaft; lifting the e'ocker and letting it fall 'alternately, and hence giving a. regular recipfrocetion to the rod K, by which theigniter is operated, The slotted plate Q efiords Sufioientrenge to permit the cum to beadjpsted so as to properly time the spark. and ineddition the time of spnrkingcnn be changed by Italic-adjustment of the lever S; This enablesthe sperk' to be produced at varying points in the piston-stroke and with varying charges of the; explosive mixture, for by' changing the position of the lever S reletively'to the sector the cam is compelled to operate the rocker earlier or-leter, nstho casemay be, and this without stopping the. engine,

Itiselso to be noted that the engine can be started without any loborious pulling of tho fly-wheelthrough-several revolutions. With the crank just pnst the center the battery can becnt out,'stopping the engine.- When ready to stort,.a partialturn of the fly-wheel will compress sufficient-o i" the explosive charge to give the initial stroke. The battery can now be reconnected, and theengine is started by simply moving; the lever S forward. The rocker-roller-travols up the com and operates the 'ignitcr, producing a spark which gives the initial explosion and an impulse to the piston, after which the engine continues in operation.

I do not desire to be limited in my patent to exact features of construction," which I have herein described and shown for the purpose of affording 2!; practical cmbodimont'of my invention, but not the only mnlmdimcnt. Many modifications can be'madc by me or by var l senses. 3

others skilled in the art which will be equivalents of those described and shown within the scope afforded by the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what 5 I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an igniter for explosive-engines, the combination with two pivotal terminal elec trodes having returning-springs, and operatlo ing arms or levers, ofa reversible push-bar,

having cam curves on opposite edges placed out of linewith each other, a guide-roller for said push-bar, and connections from the engine-shaftfor operating said push-bar, sub- 15 stantially as described. I

2. In an igniter for explosive-engines, and

in combination, movable igniting-electrodes,

a rod for operating said electrodes, a cam mounted ona geared-down shaft, for operzo ating said rod, and means for adjusting the end of said rod relatively to the cam, in order-to vary the time of its operation by the corn, substantially as described.

'positionsrelatively to the cam, whereby the time of ignition can be changed, substantially as described. v

4. In combination with a cam androd for 35 operating an' electricalji niter, a lever connected to said rod, a late carried by said lever, and a toothed sector for locking said latch and lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my sigo nature, in presence of two witnesses. this 17th day of November. 1896. v

OSCAR OWENS.

Witnesses:

- L. W. SEELY, H. J. LANG. 

